DeMint seat search begins

Haley faces big decision on senator's successor

Dec. 6, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 06: U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) enters his office December 6, 2012 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senator DeMint announced today that he will resign from the Senate to become the president of the Heritage Foundation. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) / Alex Wong/Getty Images

Appointment process to fill U.S. Senate seat

• S.C. law gives the governor power to appoint a successor until Jan. 3 following the succeeding general election. • A permanent successor would be chosen by voters in the 2014 general election. • The seat would be up for election again in the 2016 general election, as Senators serve six-year terms, and DeMint was re-elected in 2010.

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Jim DeMint said he will resign from the U.S. Senate next month, ending the political reign of a Greenville Republican who pursued conservative ideals without compromise and became a tea party voice.

His announcement was a surprise, given he has four years remaining in his second term. DeMint had said he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2016.

But the suddenness of his decision to leave the Senate set off a scramble among Republicans and put the political spotlight on Gov. Nikki Haley, who will name his successor.

Haley said she’s not going to appoint herself. Her spokesman, Rob Godfrey, declined to comment on who she might name.

DeMint said he expects his successor to be named within the next week.

DeMint said Thursday he’s resigning to take control of The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank that has an annual budget of about $80 million. The job is lucrative. Tax records show the outgoing director of the foundation was paid more than $1 million in 2010.

In an interview Thursday in his Capitol Hill office, DeMint said the decision is completely up to Haley.

“I told Gov. Haley that I would support her recommendation and that I trusted her,” he said. “It’s her decision, not mine.”

As DeMint rose to become a national conservative force, political observers said his unwillingness to compromise denied him kingmaker status in Washington, left him unable to change the way Washington does business as much as he wanted, and made a fair number of enemies in the Republican caucus that kept his profile in check.

DeMint said, “I’m leaving the Senate now, but I’m not leaving the fight.”

He said the conservative movement needs strong leadership “in the battle of ideas. No organization is better equipped to lead this fight and I believe my experience in public office as well as in the private sector as a business owner will help Heritage become even more effective in the years to come.”

Haley’s selection will have to run in a special election in 2014 — if the appointee has ambitions beyond being a placeholder. Both of the state’s Senate seats, including the one now held by Sen. Lindsey Graham, will be contested the same year.

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Republican insiders speculated that the governor might look at a handful of names as DeMint’s replacement, including U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, the North Charleston Republican and a favorite of conservatives.

Other possible replacements include U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, a Republican whose 4th District includes much of Greenville County, and U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a Republican from Indian Land.

All three were elected to Congress in the 2010 election.

Other potential contenders include former Ambassador David Wilkins of Greenville, former South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, state Sen. Tom Davis, who served as chief of staff to former governor Mark Sanford, and state Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

DeMint didn’t express a preference for who should replace him.

“Certainly I’m close to the delegation here so I feel good about them, but that doesn’t mean there are not other people in South Carolina I would be happy with too,” he said.

Republican adviser Chip Felkel said Wilkins, former speaker of the South Carolina House and former U.S. ambassador to Canada, would be an attractive replacement.

“Statesman. Ambassador. Well-respected across the aisle — both sides. Could be appointed without much controversy. Doesn’t necessarily burn political bridges,” Felkel said of Wilkins.

DeMint, who earns $174,000 a year as a senator, is one of the least affluent members of the Senate. The personal financial disclosure form he filed in May this year reported individual retirement account assets for 2011 worth between $2,002 and $30,000.

It also says he earned $43,755 from a book advance last year and lists two residential mortgages, one between $100,000 and $250,000, and one between $250,000 and $500,000.

Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, said in a statement the group was pleased to have worked alongside DeMint for fiscal responsibility, free markets and constitutionally limited government.

“While we are sad to lose a strong, conservative voice in the Senate, he will continue to be a courageous advocate for our principles in his new role,” Martin said.

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DeMint was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998 after owning an advertising and market research company for 20 years. DeMint left the House after limiting himself to three terms. He then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2010.

His approach vexed some Republican leaders who complained that while DeMint’s activities might have won like-minded conservatives several seats in Congress, they enabled Democrats to keep some vulnerable seats and maintain a majority.

DeMint also was at odds with Republican congressional leaders who were unapologetic defenders of special spending “earmarks” that he deplored. Some eventually switched and embraced an earmark ban.

Political analysts said DeMint was a force to be reckoned with in the Republican Party, but there were many such forces.

“On issues of substance, you always could pretty well know where DeMint was going to be,” Felkel said. “It’s both an attribute, and sometimes has led him to be so rigid that you can’t necessarily move the ball forward.”

“I’ll give him credit for sticking to his principles. I’ll give him credit for not really wavering on what he believes and being a gentleman.”

Still, DeMint alienated some Senate members, analysts said.

In comparing DeMint and Graham, the state’s senior senator, Felkel said, “Graham can still get a seat at the table to make his point. And Jim has been so rigid in his positions that he can’t even get a seat at the table, which I don’t know is necessarily good when it comes to representing the people of the state.”

DeMint said the deal with Heritage was reached Wednesday, which is what he indicated on ethics forms he filed about 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

DeMint said he began notifying family and friends Wednesday night and called Haley Thursday morning. He also met with Graham a few minutes before addressing the staff at the Heritage Foundation.

Graham, in an interview off the Senate floor, said he was stunned by DeMint’s news.

“When he told me, I about fell off my couch,” he said.

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Graham said he hasn’t had time to think about how his own political future will be affected by DeMint’s departure.

“Jim’s biggest legacy, I think, is creating energy for those who believe in limited government,” Graham said.

DeMint said he will support Graham from his new post at the Heritage Foundation.

“Despite what people read back home, we’ve been great partners,” he said. “We’ve worked the system pretty well ... He kind of throws things out and gets people all churned up, but if you look at his record, we generally vote the same way. He’s a player and he’s been fun to work with.”

DeMint said his move to the foundation doesn’t mean he’s leaving his constituents behind.

“I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think the opportunity at the Heritage Foundation would allow me to do more to improve the lives of the people of South Carolina but also all over the country,” he said, wearing a blue tie with the Heritage symbol on it. “I think I’ll have more impact outside the Senate for South Carolina than if I stay.”